Education Commons^™

Effect Of Response Cards On Academic Outcomes, Ellen L. Duchaine

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EFFECT OF RESPONSE CARDS ON ACADEMIC OUTCOMES FOR HIGH

SCHOOL STUDENTS WITHOUT DISABILITIES AND HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHO EXHIBIT

CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS

by

Ellen L. Duchaine

Response cards (RC) support effective teaching strategies such as maintaining a brisk

pace of instruction, increased opportunities to respond, immediate and frequent corrective

feedback, and high rates of behavior specific praise statements; all of which have been

effective in increasing student engagement for students with and without emotional and

behavioral disorders (E/BD) (Emmer & Stough, 2001; Simonsen et al., 2008; Sutherland,

Wehby, & Copeland, 2000). RC during academic instruction are successful in …

The Persistence Of Policy: A Tropological Analysis Of Contemporary Education Policy Discourse In The United States, Frank A. Carusi Jr.

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Contemporary federal education policy discourse from A Nation at Risk to the Race to the Top program has promoted and extended neoliberal discourse from the national level to the level of the school and its personnel. This study highlights the persistence of neoliberal discourse within federal education policy and the consequences this persistence holds for critiques of current policies and practices. Analyzing reports published by the United States Department of Education and contemporary United States education policy starting from A Nation at Risk, moving through America 2000, Goals 2000, and No Child Left Behind, and ending …

Robustness Of Two Formulas To Correct Pearson Correlation For Restriction Of Range, Minh Tran

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ROBUSTNESS OF TWO FORMULAS
TO CORRECT PEARSON CORRELATION FOR
RESTRICTION OF RANGE

by

Dung Minh Tran

Many research studies involving Pearson correlations are conducted in settings where one of the two variables has a restricted range in the sample. For example, this situation occurs when tests are used for selecting candidates for employment or university admission. Often after selection, there is interest in correlating the selection variable, which has a restricted range, to a criterion variable. The focus of this research was to compare Alexander, Alliger, and Hanges’s (1984) formula to Thorndike’s (1947) formula and population values using Monte …

Response-To-Intervention: Understanding General Education Teacher Knowledge And Implementation, Elissa M. Benjamin

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The new IDEIA (2004) mandates regarding the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RtI) present challenges for general education teachers. The law dictates the implementation of Response-to-Intervention, which requires the application of a pyramid of interventions for students failing to make adequate yearly progress in response to general education programs. Response-to-Intervention regulations redefine general education teacher roles, increase responsibilities regarding instructional interventions for at-risk learners, and change the process used to determine qualification for specific learning disability (SLD).

A qualitative case study investigates how three general educators in a rural public elementary school understand and implement Response-to-Intervention policy. The study also examines teacher …

Check, Connect, And Expect In A Self-Contained Setting For Elementary Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Sara C. Mcdaniel

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

Check, Connect, Expect (CCE) is a secondary tier behavioral intervention for at-risk students who require targeted behavioral support in addition to school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. A full-time coach in the CCE intervention provided behavioral supports including daily check-in and check-out procedures, as well as targeted social skills instruction. This study extended CCE to a self-contained elementary school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Twenty-two students participated in the 17-week study that involved a four week baseline phase, followed by a 13-week intervention phase. The following research questions were addressed: (a) How did CCE affect student behavior?; (b) …

Evaluating The Relationship Among Parents' Oral And Written Language Skills, The Home Literacy Environment, And Their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills, Nicole A. Taylor

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

Studies have examined the impact of parents’ educational level on their child’s emergent literacy skills and have found positive associations (Korat, 2009). However, a review of the literature indicates that previous studies have not investigated whether parents’ oral and written language skills relate to their child’s emergent oral and written language skills. This is important in light of the fact that parents’ educational level does not provide a complete picture of their academic skills (Greenberg, 1995). In addition to parental characteristics, the home literacy environment (HLE) is seen as important in the growth of children’s emergent literacy skills (Hood, Conlon, …

Soundings: Musical Aesthetics In Music Education Discourse From 1907 To 1958, Jeremy M. Kopkas

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

In this dissertation I examine the discourse of music educators as it relates to musical aesthetics in the United States from the creation of the Music Supervisors’ Conference in 1907 to the year of the publication of Basic Concepts of Music Education: The Fifty-Seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 1 in 1958. The purpose of this dissertation is to show that philosophical discussion, especially in relation to musical aesthetics, was much more comprehensive than previously acknowledged. The conventional view that the arguments supporting music education were primarily utilitarian is a limited interpretation of the …

Professional Development, Writer's Workshop And Identity: A Case Study Of Women Elementary School Teachers Using Writing As Resistance, Karla J. Zisook

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to uncover the ways that women elementary school teachers negotiate their identities within the context of writer’s workshop by exploring issues of gender, literacy, and identity. The two central participants were women elementary school teachers who were involved at their Professional Development School with university partnership and were learning how to implement a writer’s workshop instructional model. This study considers how the participants’ involvement in professional development with a university faculty member shaped their identities as women and professionals. The theoretical framework is critical theory and identity theory in which literacy and …

Perceptions Of A Hiv Testing Message Targeted For At-Risk Adults With Low Functional Health Literacy, Susan L. Hunter

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

This study analyses warehoused data collected by Georgia State University and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (GSU/CDC) researchers after developing an HIV testing message for urban adults with low functional health literacy. It expands previous work by examining data collected when 202 primarily African-American homeless clients of an urban community based organization (CBO) reviewed both the low literacy brochure (Wallace et. al., 2006) and a standard HIV brochure (Georgia Department of Human Resources, 1997). Participants’ health literacy was assessed using 2 measures; the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine or REALM (Davis, Crouch, Long & Green) and the …

An Examination Of Cognitive Presence And Learning Outcome In An Asynchronous Discussion Forum, Tan M. Tran

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

Web-based learning progresses as access to the Internet grows. As learners and educators in virtual learning communities, we strive for ways to measure how well teachers teach and learners learn. While the literature is replete with articles and books discussing online learning from the perspective of social and teaching presence, there are few studies that examine the relationship between cognitive presence and learning effectiveness in an online environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive presence and learning outcome in an asynchronous discussion forum. Thus, this study examined performance in an online course in relation …

Effective Technology Strategies Teachers Use In The Urban Middle Grades Mathematics Classroom, Tammie R. Cravens

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The 21^st century mathematics classroom looks and operates differently than it did half a century ago. Not only are teachers expected to facilitate activities rather than lecture, they are also expected to utilize technology. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics established the technology principle to guide teachers into this practice in 2000. Today there are middle school mathematics teachers who use technology effectively in the classroom. However, there is a dearth of literature in this area on how they select and use technology. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the process by which these teachers …

Mapping The Road To Instructional Coach Effectiveness: Exploring The Relationship Between Instructional Coaching Efficacy, Practices, And Outcomes, Marsha Mccrary

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

Despite the presence and potential impact of instructional coaches, many schools are not experiencing significant improvements in teachers’ practices or student achievement. In gaining more insight into forces that impact instructional coach effectiveness, this study (a) explored the relationship between sources of instructional coaching efficacy and dimensions of instructional coaching efficacy [Mathematics Content & Mathematics-Specific Pedagogy (ME), Student Centered & General Pedagogy (SE), Interpersonal & Communication Coaching (IE), and Personal Coach Characteristics]; and (b) explored the relationship between dimensions of instructional coaching efficacy and instructional coach outcomes. Participants included teachers (n=144) and their instructional coaches (n=19), from elementary …

Understanding How Esol Pre-Services Teachers' Prior Experiences And Background Shape Their Processes Of Becoming L2 (Reading) Teachers, Eudes H. Aoulou

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

We know little about how English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) preservice teachers’ prior experiences and beliefs shape their learning process in teacher preparation programs, particularly in the area of second language (L2) reading instruction although research on preservice teachers’ antecedents has offered insights into our understanding of how they learn to become teachers (Johnson, 1992, 1994; Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). This inquiry was designed to contribute to such knowledge.

The participants were nine ESOL pre-service teachers enrolled in an ESOL program of a large urban university in the southeastern region of the United States. Using modified versions …

Becoming The Generalized Other: An Analysis Of The Narratives Of Teach For America Teacher-Bloggers, Neil J. Rigole

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

This narrative research study investigated the identity development process of a group of beginning teachers participating in Teach For America (TFA). The participants (n=3) were middle or high school teachers who had taught in high needs, low income urban school settings. They had also blogged on the “Teach For Us” blog hosting site about their experiences in the classroom as beginning teachers. Through the lenses of Sfard and Prusak’s (2005) narrative theory of identity and Mead’s (1934) social theory of identity and the role of the “Generalized Other”, narrative research techniques were used to analyze the stories found in their …

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Instructional Coaching On Retention Of Mathematics Teachers, Dorothy Lewis-Grace

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

In 2007, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported in their 2004-2005 Teacher Follow-up Survey that nearly 20% of U.S. teachers leave the profession after their first year of teaching and almost 30% leave after the fourth year of teaching. These percentages are even greater for mathematics teachers.

Using symbolic interactionism, adult learning, and partnership as a theoretical framework, this ethnographic case study investigated and examined the factors that influenced second-career mathematics teachers to remain in the teaching profession and their experiences with instructional coaching. The following guiding research question and sub-questions were pursued in the study: Why have …

Coping Resources, Coping Styles, Mastery, Social Support, And Depression In Male And Female College Students, Kristen J. Aycock

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Depression is one of the most commonly-diagnosed disorders in college counseling centers (Adams, Wharton, Quilter, & Hirsch, 2008), so effective diagnosis and treatment are paramount to providing adequate care to college students. Treatment direction may depend on gender, however. Not only do males and females experience depression at different rates (Kessler et al., 2003), but there also is some evidence that factors predict depression differently by gender (Tamres, Janicki, & Helgeson, 2002). Specifically, the literature suggests that the choice of coping strategies may be gender-related; that perceived control is higher in males, yet more important to females; that social connectedness …

Parental Stress, Socioeconomic Status, Satisfaction With Services, And Family Quality Of Life Among Parents Of Children Receiving Special Education Services, Heather F. Lundy

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Family quality of life (FQOL) refers to the degree to which families of individuals with disabilities are able to meet their basic needs, enjoy time together, and pursue leisure interests and activities (Park et al., 2003). Researchers have identified barriers that families of individuals with disabilities encounter as they pursue a life of quality including elevated parental stress (Hauser-Cram, Warfield, Shonkoff, & Kraus, 2001), low socioeconomic status (SES) (Park, Turnbull, & Turnbull, 2002) and inadequate social service support (Soresi, Nota, & Ferrari, 2007). This study utilized data collected from a sample of parents (N = 389) of children receiving …

Removing A Barrier To Widen The Door To Recovery: Working Alliance Development With African American Women Substance Abusers, Telsie A. Davis

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Two groups of therapist characteristics were explored as predictors of working alliance (WA) with African American women substance abusers (n = 102). This study tested the hypotheses that Population Sensitive Therapist Characteristics (PSTCs; i.e. multicultural competence [MC], egalitarianism [EG], and empowerment [EM]) would explain an additional and significant amount of the variance in WA beyond that explained by general therapist characteristics (GTCs; i.e. empathy, regard, and genuineness); and that GTCs partially mediate the effect of each individual PSTC on WA. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that PSTCs explained an additional 12% of the variance in WA, after controlling for GTCs. …

Understanding School Counselors' Ability To Implement School Counseling Activities Following Participation In Professional Training, Focusing On Adventure Based Counseling Training, Tara S. Morgan

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

A concern following school counselors participation in professional training is whether or not they are able to implement information learned. One such professional training that school counselors attend is Adventure Based Counseling (ABC). ABC groups are effective for addressing a myriad of concerns with young people. ABC groups address problem-solving skills, self-esteem, responsibility, goal setting, cooperation, and interpersonal skills. Although many school counselors have participated in ABC training, there is a lack of research that supports whether they are actually utilizing these techniques with their students. Additionally, current research does not provide information as to how training programs and school …

Potentials And Impediments To Universal, School-Based Screening For Behavioral And Emotional Risk: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Current Case Law, Natasha D. Gardner

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Disproportionality in special education is a long-standing issue. Some scholars have proposed group or universal screening for emotional and behavioral risk in schools as a method of addressing disproportionality. Considering previous case law, questions exist as to the legality of such screening programs in public schools. The purpose of this inquiry was to apply critical discourse analysis (CDA) to the federal case of Rhoades v. Penn-Harris (2008) to explore how court discourse reflects issues of social power and multidisciplinarity in the context of a school mental health screening program. CDA is usually interdisciplinary and focuses on explaining discourse structures related …

A Study Of The Learning-Focused School Improvement Model And Its Effects On Third Grade Reading Scores In A Suburban, Metropolitan School System, Douglas A. Daugherty

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF THE LEARNING-FOCUSED SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

MODEL AND ITS EFFECT ON THIRD GRADE READING

SCORES IN A SUBURBAN, METROPOLITAN

SCHOOL SYSTEM

by

Douglas A. Daugherty

In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Education Act (NCLB). This act calls for a measurable annual increase in student achievement such that students reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic assessments.

A historical review of political involvement with education will add to that statement one more objective of the bill: to render more U.S. students globally competitive. Federal funding to state education is tied to the achievement …

Title I Elementary School Principals' Perspectives On Teacher Preparedness: University-Based Alternative Teacher Preparation For Urban Schools, Pamela L. Gayles

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TITLE I ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHER PREPAREDNESS: UNIVERSITY-BASED ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION FOR URBAN SCHOOLS

by

Pamela L. Gayles

Colleges of education produce the majority of teacher educators in the United States. Additionally, over half of the alternative teacher preparation programs in the United States are administered by colleges of education. However, the literature reveals that few institutions concentrate on urban teacher preparation and that teacher-reform efforts have continuously insisted on high-quality teachers for high-need urban schools. This work addresses the existing gap in the extant research on urban schools by including the voices of school principals that …

Factors That Influence Cross-Validation Of Hierarchical Linear Models, Tracy Widman

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

While use of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to predict an outcome is reasonable and desirable, employing the model for prediction without first establishing the model’s predictive validity is ill-advised. Estimating the predictive validity of a regression model by cross-validation has been thoroughly researched, but there is a dearth of research investigating the cross-validation of hierarchical linear models. One of the major obstacles in cross-validating HLM is the lack of a measure of explained variance similar to the squared multiple correlation coefficient in regression analysis.

The purpose of this Monte Carlo simulation study is to explore the impact of sample size, …

Teacher's And Teacher Leaders' Perceptions Of The Formal Role Of Teacher Leadership, Jerry D. Kelley

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TEACHERS’ AND TEACHER LEADERS’ PERCEPTIONS

OF THE FORMAL ROLE OF

TEACHER LEADERSHIP

by

Jerry Kelley

The accountability and responsibilities of schools have intensified greatly over the past two decades and school improvement has become a strong focus of many schools, thus requiring a greater understanding and use of formal teacher leadership if schools are to meet high standards. This research studied teachers’ and teacher leaders’ beliefs concerning the formal role of teacher leadership in three elementary schools. A qualitative study was conducted, utilizing surveys and interviews to collect data concerning teachers’ and teacher leaders’ perceptions of the formal role …

Sample Size In Ordinal Logistic Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Allison M. Timberlake

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Most quantitative research is conducted by randomly selecting members of a population on which to conduct a study. When statistics are run on a sample, and not the entire population of interest, they are subject to a certain amount of error. Many factors can impact the amount of error, or bias, in statistical estimates. One important factor is sample size; larger samples are more likely to minimize bias than smaller samples. Therefore, determining the necessary sample size to obtain accurate statistical estimates is a critical component of designing a quantitative study.

Much research has been conducted on the impact of …

Investigating A Model Of False Memory Construction: Is Seeing Believing?, Rebecca Bays

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

In the current literature review I examine false memory research, including variables that affect memory accuracy, instrumentation, and analyses used to assess false memory construction, as well as possible frameworks accounting for the development of false memories. Do errors in memory occur during encoding of an event or during retrieval of a memory? I discuss two models of false memories, both born from the source-monitoring framework, to highlight the important cognitive processes leading to crucial errors in memory recall. In the study that follows I investigate whether repeated imaginings of an implausible autobiographical event will lead to the creation of …

Teachers And English Language Learners Experiencing The Secondary Mainstream Classroom: A Case Study, Amanda M. Ruiz

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The number of linguistically and culturally diverse students entering public schools is increasing (Echeverria, Short & Powers, 2006; Williams, 2001) and mainstream teachers are responsible for making content comprehensible for these students (Clegg, 1996; Georgia Department of Education, 2008); however, test scores and graduation rates indicate that English language learners (ELLs), across the nation, are consistently underperforming on content based assessments and failing to complete high school (Carrasquillo & Rodriguez, 2006; Cruz & Thornton, 2009) . Using a constructivist lens and the concept of the instructional dynamic (Ball & Forzani, 2007), this dissertation presents the experiences of the mainstream teacher …

Simulation Video Games As Learning Tools: An Examination Of Instructor Guided Reflection On Cognitive Outcomes, Kevin R. Wood

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

Simulation video games potentially offer students the opportunity to participate in activities designed to bring about higher order thinking. Gee (2005b, 2007) elucidates that without the guidance of instructors, humans involved in a simulation experience have a high probability of finding creative but spurious patterns and generalizations that send learners down miseducative paths. The focus of this study is an examination of the function of instructor guided reflection and prior participant interest and exposure to video games in promoting affective and cognitive learning during participant use of single and multiplayer simulation video games in the classroom. One hundred twenty- eight …

How Do Scientists Cross Cultural Borders Between Religion And Science: A Case Study, Chester A. Barner Iii

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The cultures of science and religion have had different levels of conflict throughout the past several hundred years due in part to the development of the theory of evolution. Although many ideas abound in science education as to the alleviation of this struggle, few studies have examined how scientists who profess religious beliefs deal with this conflict. In general, the study sought to understand the cognitive dynamic of the cultural interaction between the scientific and religious culture within a few individuals. Specifically, the study allowed scientists to explain how they found a measure of compatibility between their faith and their …

Identifying Complex Cultural Interactions In The Instructional Design Process: A Case Study Of A Cross-Border, Cross-Sector Training For Innovation Program, Lillian R. Russell Ph.D.

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to identify complex cultural dynamics in theinstructional design process of a cross-sector, cross-border training environment by applying Young’s (2009) Culture-Based Model (CBM) as a theoretical framework and taxonomy for description of the instructional design process under the conditions of one case. The guiding question of this study is: How does culture, as defined by Young’s (2009) CBM framework, interact with the instructional design process in this case of a cross-sector, cross-border training program?

This research uses the qualitative approach of case study and applies a cultural design framework to examine the process of instructional …